An area church rallied outside the Onslow County Courthouse and the Onslow County School Board building this week, on a mission to put prayer back in schools.

“We want to put prayer back into our schools and put God back where he belongs,” said David Jarman, pastor of Baysden’s Pentacostal Free Will Baptist Church in Richlands.

More than 30 people — most of whom were from the Richlands church — rallied outside the courthouse Monday morning and around 15 people rallied in front of the School Board building Wednesday morning in peaceful demonstrations, holding signs, praying and singing hymns.

“Why is God on the outside of our schools having to look in when he’s always been inside of it,” asked Linwood Whaley, of Baysden’s Pentacostal. “We got so many kids in school that want to say prayer, and because one person does not want to, they can’t pray. That’s wrong. We’re being discriminated as Christians, and it’s time Christians took a stand.”

Students in Onslow County are given one minute for a moment of silence at the beginning of each school day, during which they are not to be interrupted. Students may do with that moment of silence anything they wish, including pray, according to Onslow County School Policy 3330/4050, which was adopted in 2000.

Throughout the state of North Carolina, boards of education are not allowed to deny prayer in public schools by students volunteering to pray, “except when necessary to maintain order and discipline,” according to N.C. State Statute 115C-47. Additionally, the statute expressly prohibits any local board of education from encouraging or requiring any students to pray in public schools.

“We understand that teachers cannot promote the prayer, but they cannot stop the prayer either,” Whaley said. “(Kids) are under the impression that prayer is not allowed in school.”

After learning of the laws in place, Jarman called the rallying a “big misunderstanding about prayer in school.”

“We were told the kids couldn't pray,” Jarman said. “We just to make sure now that everybody knows they can pray in school.”

Whaley stressed that the group is not trying to force prayer on anyone who doesn’t want to pray. Rather, the group wants students to know they have the option to pray if they would like to.

“We’re not trying to start a stink,” Whaley said. “… We’ve just noticed that America is just going downhill.

“America was founded on the basis of God and we need to get to back to that.”

Jarman said the group is not sure yet whether they will be holding any more rallies.

“We'll have to wait and see how things pan out,” he said.

OnslowCountyschool officials provided the state statute and county policy but deferred a request for comment to their attorney, who did not respond by deadline Wednesday.

Contact Daily News Military Reporter Amanda Wilcox at 910-219-8453 or amanda.wilcox@jdnews.com. Follow her on Twitter @AWilcox21.